Next up! Borrowed this dress (that I designed and made) back from one of my bespoke customers to paint for the upcoming project....I just need more days in the week to get it done....:-/

Well....I think I haven't been the only one to contract the horrible beasties....apparently the lurgy bugs have been 'sweeping the country', and whereas I normally escape such things (I don't get out much!), I got a hefty dose this time, good and proper....it wasn't fun at all, so it's hard to make jokes about it.I was in bed for about a week (!), and this is me: 'Never get so much as a cold, and never have back pain....'Well somehow, in the throes of coughing fits and violent sneezing, I managed to put my back out quite badly. So not only did I feel completely wiped out with the virus itself, but I also had a shooting pain across my lower back every time I coughed or sneezed! Aaarrgghhhhhhh!! So……it went away, then came back just as bad a few days later, but the doc said I could use the codeine I found in a drawer, and I feel so much better now the constant nagging pain has nearly gone! Amazing how your view on life changes when you’re not constantly preoccupied with how bad you feel :-) I’ve now had 3 days of feeling noticeably better, (apart from the back thing), so I’m hoping this is now my trajectory - up!! In other news, (as they say, whoever ‘they’ are?), a few things are on the horizon for the start of 2017….I’ve been doing some teaching in London for a friend of mine who I hadn’t seen for about 5 years , so nice to reconnect….and a good excuse to go down to my manor more often.(Strange how I definitely feel that London’s my home ground, even though I haven’t lived there for about 35 (!!) years. But I grew up in north Kent / south London and my Mama took me shopping and to the theatre there, and I’ve worked, gone to school / university, and generally hung about there for a long time before that. Seems like I’m talking about ancient history, but I AM pretty ancient, as anyone who is a Comus fan can work out!)

The Ravensbourne (Greenwich) Short Courses, as part of which my Japanese 3D Pattern Cutting course was to run, have had to be rescheduled due to technical problems at their end.....so, if you are interested in that, << Test First Name >>, please contact them to find out the new dates. They are currently being rescheduled, but I will of course let you know dates as soon as I do.

I am also teaching a masterclass in 'Making a Japanese Kimono', at Warwick University Arts Centre, in April and if you live within travelling distance and fancy coming along, here's a link to a fantastic website called Fabric Tales that deals in all things authentically Japanese, including fabrics, haberdashery and more. As is typical of Japanese companies, it’s very detailed, with great images, great testimonials from happy customers, and clear details for ordering. They even appear to do ‘COD’ or Cash on delivery, almost unheard of now, but I am about to order some fabric soon, so will let you know the outcome! The great advantage of COD is that their scary warnings about not being responsible for packets being lost, damaged and nothing being refundable in case of the above, is that it is what it says it is: ‘cash on delivery’, i.e they deliver and THEN you pay, so no worries about money being spent, only for the package to possibly disappear in transit, and unless you pay loads more for ‘special delivery’, your money has just effectively been wasted. Didn’t think any company did that these days…but it sounds good to me!********************************I’ve had quite a few new students start in the last few weeks, so that’s encouraging, especially as one is travelling from Yorkshire for a course of day long workshops, so I’m assuming that I must be filling some kind of gap in the market! Two new students mentioned my website, so maybe that’s it…?**************************************And the painting….well, of course it’s been so frustrating, wanting to get on with something that I’ve only just got stuck into. Just before Christmas, I finally tracked down something I needed to finish the current one, borrowed the next dress to paint only to then be struck down by the virus……So I’ve certainly lost my flow, a pain when you only just start to feel confident with the way it’s going. So my plan now is to start the new one - get it set up how I want it, take some photos, print out and square up, transfer to the canvas, and get it all going before I hand back the actual dress. I HAVE to give the dress back quite quickly, simply because the petticoat is MASSIVE, and there’s not enough room here, even in our huge flat! So, that’s quite good discipline really, as a real commission may involve similar restrictions. When all’s going OK with that, I will then put the finishing bits onto painting no.1….so at least I can feel like I’m making progress again. One certainty is that this painting will be smaller than the first! People have to be able to envisage a painting of a certain size in their home, and the first is 5ft tall x 2.5 ft wide. After I've done the second one, I will finally be able to launch the idea, which everyone seems to think is great! Thank you Lindsay :-) I've never been good at being patient, but oh god, have I had to learn over the last few weeks! ***************************************So my greatest achievement in 2017 so far has been to write this blog! I lost loads of it a couple of days ago, as it obviously (I realised too late!) wasn’t saving properly, so I just had to grit my teeth and almost start again.But anyway, that’s how things stand. Sorry this has been a bit long and overloaded, but it’s kind of my way of seeing the way forward.If you, or anyone you know are interested in any of my exploits - coming here for classes in pattern cutting or sewing, having a unique bespoke wedding dress or outfit designed and made by me, and even the 'wedding dress portrait' idea, please go to the contact page of my website and email or phone me from there.